


A Fathers Promise

by ShadowsintheClouds



Series: Short Marvel Fics and gifts [14]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: 2012 tropes, Awesome Darcy Lewis, Darcy Lewis is Tony Stark's Daughter, F/M, Gen, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Insecure Tony, Mostly follows cannon, Parent Tony Stark, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Daddy Issues, do not copy to another site, screw endgame, we travel to 2012 like the wimps we are
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-10
Updated: 2019-08-10
Packaged: 2020-08-14 03:27:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20185498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowsintheClouds/pseuds/ShadowsintheClouds
Summary: After an incident at a New Years party, Tony ends up a single father to his daughter Darcy. Follow his journey as Tony figures out how to be a father so young as well as to never repeat his own father's mistakes.





	A Fathers Promise

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome. Because Endgame had introduced time travel I’ve decided to take the fandom back to 2012-2014 where things were simpler and nobody was dead and we weren’t crying our eyes out. So, enjoy the good old 2012 tropes and smiles. God knows we all need it.

It was New Years Eve 1989 when Tony Stark had his first and only sexual slip-up. He was 19, way too young to be drinking as much as he had, and Rhodey had ventured off to talk to some friends from ROTC. Tony was an impressionable kid. Even so, he knew he should have been more careful.

The woman’s name was Kathrine Lewis. At the time, Tony didn’t care about her name. He was too drunk out of his mind to think. Tony didn’t remember that much about the night, but he was 100% sure that he put a condom on. For 5 months he thought nothing of it. Then, right before Tony’s 20th birthday, he learned the truth.

Tony freaked out when he found out. He heard it from one of Kathrine’s friends that she had used Tony’s condom that night to impregnate herself to extort money out of the Stark family. Tony was furious. He couldn’t believe that someone had done that! And what would happen to the baby once she got what she wanted? It wasn’t fair to Tony, who had practiced safe sex, and the baby who had no say in what was happening.

So, Tony took some time to really think things through. He was just finishing up at MIT. He’d received three doctorates and was about to run into some free time. He wasn’t expecting to take the reins for SI for a while yet. Sure, he would be inventing things and working in the lab and going to business events, but in Tony’s mind, those were small things. This. This was a big thing. This was an adult thing. This was something that needed to be thought through.

Tony talked it over with Rhodey, with Mama Rhodes, with his parents and with Obi. Rhodey and Mama Rhodes actually gave Tony good advice. Maria Stark sat Tony down and had a good long chat with him before accepting his decision. Howard just scoffed, said some nasty things to Tony and went to go drink in his office. Those things made Tony want to cry but he couldn’t really do that with Howard around. Stark men are made of iron after all.

Obi was the one who really freaked out. He was throwing things, shouting and getting so close to Tony and touching his arms in a way that made him uncomfortable. But at that point, Tony had made his decision and wasn’t going to back down.

Three weeks later, Tony confronted Kathrine and made a deal. He would pay her the money she wanted and Tony would take care of the baby. It was a done and sorted deal. She didn’t even want a baby anyways. Tony thought that there were much better ways of getting money than by putting a child through misery.

The next few months were filled with planning and shopping. He wanted to make sure that his baby had everything they’d need. He didn’t know if it was a boy or a girl yet. Not that he really cared, but it would certainly help because Maria Stark kept wanting to go baby clothes shopping for her grandchild. 

Little Darcy Margret Stark was born on August 29th, 1990. She was a small, screaming little thing and right then and there Tony knew he could never let her go. She was absolutely perfect. Kathrine didn’t even want to see her and quickly signed away her rights. Tony had more complaints about that. He didn’t think he could hand Darcy over so someone else if he was forced to.

Darcy was a healthy baby and passed all of her tests with flying colours. Tony was so proud of her. The car ride back home was the most stressful moment of Tony’s life and he had three doctorates. He was terrified that something would happen to his precious little baby. Luckily, nothing happened and both arrived back home in one piece.

To say that Maria Stark loved the baby was an understatement. She was cooing over Darcy the second Tony walked through the doors to the mansion. Tony indulged her. Darcy was just too cute. He was doing the exact same thing. Obi was absent. Tony didn’t care. Howard had wandered out of his office to see what all the commotion was about. He took one look at Darcy before telling Tony that the baby had better not interfere with his work. Just hearing Howard talk made Tony make a promise to his baby. He vowed to never be manipulative and emotionally abusive like Howard. He wanted Darcy to have a good life and a good relationship with him. He vowed to be a good father.

He took Darcy up to her room which was right next to his. He had decorated it was mini planets, robots, and math equations. He wanted his daughter to grow up learning anything and everything. She could do whatever she wanted with her life, but Tony wanted to make sure she had a healthy respect for science.

On all accounts, Darcy was a pretty peaceful baby. Sure, she cried when she needed something like all babies, but other than that she was pretty quiet. She would snooze in her little bassinet next to Tony while he did work in the lab. DUM-E, U, and Butterfingers absolutely adored her and would shake things over her head to make her grab at them and laugh. Tony kept himself busy while she slept. He was coding an AI that he was going to call JARVIS to help him take care of Darcy as well as help in everyday life.

As Darcy continued to grow over the next few months Tony couldn’t help but feel proud. His little girl was just so perfect. She learned to smile. She would play with her feet and would coo whenever Tony held her. Tony had stopped freaking out so much about being a young parent. All Tony had to think was “what would Howard do?” then do the opposite. He would read to Darcy every day. He would sing to her, play with her, and feed her. She was precious and Tony wanted to see her thrive. 

When Darcy figured out how to crawl Tony was over the moon. He told everybody. He told his parents, he told Rhodey and Mama Rhodes. Well… that was everyone in Tony’s life that mattered. He was still mad at Obi.

When Darcy took her first steps Tony had JARVIS catch the whole thing on camera. Tony wanted to make sure that he had the memories forever. At that point, the media was questioning why Tony wasn’t out and about much. Tony responded by going to one of his mother’s charity galas. Because he didn’t have a babysitter, Tony had to bring Darcy along. Tony didn’t exactly want to bring Darcy into the spotlight, but luckily there was no negative attention on his daughter. Everybody thought she was just the most precious thing in her fluffy red dress and matching headband. Tony could deal with the negative attention on him. He’d grown up with Howard as a father. Tony was just glad that nobody was saying bad things about Darcy.

Not too long after the gala, Darcy said her first word. Tony cried. He was unashamed to say he cried. Darcy’s first word was Dada. That just reaffirmed in Tony’s mind that he was Darcy’s father and he was going to do everything in his power to protect her.

It seemed like things were finally going good in Tony’s life. He’d cleaned up his act since Darcy was born. No more drugs, no more alcohol, no more one night stands. He wanted to be a good father for Darcy. He wanted to be the father he’d needed growing up. He was going to be ok, and so was Darcy.

But the peace didn’t last forever. On December 16, 1991, Tony had another huge argument with Howard. He couldn’t really remember what it was about. He remembered Howard being drunk and slapping Tony across the face and then going off with Maria to their vacation while Tony went to go hide in his room with Darcy.

Howard and Maria never made it to the airport.

Tony found out the next morning as he was feeding Darcy her oatmeal. Obi had come in and told him the news. He sat Tony down while Darcy played with blocks on her little mat and told him that his parents had died in a car crash on their way to the airport. Tony was devastated. He was so devastated that he let Obi hug him while he cried. Tony normally didn’t like being around others when he was upset and he hated being touched.

Tony only tolerated that for so long and he soon took off to his room to go and play with Darcy until he calmed down. He could talk to Obi later. Explaining to Darcy why Gammy wasn’t coming home was more important.

The funeral for Howard and Maria Stark was held just a few days later on the 20th. Tony dressed Darcy in a black fluffy dress with matching shoes and himself in a plain black suit. The ride to the church was sombre. Tony didn’t know how he should feel. He was heartbroken that his mother was dead. He was relieved that Howard couldn’t hurt him anymore. And he was angry that Howard’s drunk driving had taken his mother from him.

Tony ended up sitting at the front of the church with Obi and his aunt Peggy with Darcy on his lap. The speakers mostly talked about Howard and how amazing his mind was and how the world would miss him. Tony decided to focus on his mother when he went up to speak. He talked about how she taught him to bake and play the piano. About how she would tell him silly jokes in Italian. And most of all, how he would miss her. Obi got mad at him after for not talking as much about Howard. Tony didn’t care. 

The rest of the funeral went smoothly. Tony held little Darcy close as he cried. His Aunt Peggy helped a lot and offered to hold her so that Tony could say goodbye to his mom. The drive back to the house was silent. Darcy had fallen asleep, Tony and Obi weren’t talking, and Peggy was keeping an eye on things. Obi left just as soon as they arrived. Peggy went to go put Darcy in her crib while Tony took a little walk around the house.

Every room he went into held memories. Both good and bad. He passed the piano that his mother used to play. He passed the workshop still filled with Howard's blueprints. Then, just as Tony was about to return to Darcy and Peggy, he saw it. Howards special cabinet. The one filled with booze. 

Tony took one look at Howards liquor cabinet… and smashed the whole thing. He used it to get out all his anger and frustration. He hated Howard, he hated the alcohol, he hated what could have been. But, Tony also knew better because of Howard. He wasn’t going down that road. He wasn’t going to throw his life away and become an asshole. He wasn’t going to do that to Darcy. Not ever. 

XXXXXX

When Darcy was 4, Tony moved the main areas of the company to Malibu. It was warmer and sunnier there than in New York. Plus, there was more space for Darcy and some really good schools. It was a no brainer. Plus, there were no more memories of Howard haunting the house.

The house itself was secluded. It was on a cliff facing the ocean. Tony had always loved the water. The new house had a pool, a bigger lab for Tony and the bots, as well as more open space for Darcy to run around. It was so much better then the stuffy mansion Tony had grown up in. Plus Darcy got to decorate her own room.

SI was flourishing under Tony. Obi was there to help. Sometimes it felt like he was helping too much, but Tony just brushed it off. Obi was just worried that Tony was getting overworked. That had to be it. But, Tony did find himself feeling overworked. That was when he hired on one Virginia Potts.

Potts was a lifesaver. She reminded Tony of when he had appointments and made sure that his paperwork was in order. She also took no shit from anyone and had very quickly earned the nickname of Pepper. Nobody messed with Pepper Potts.

Not long after hiring Pepper, Darcy started school. Darcy had placed high on her entrance tests and the school wanted to start her in the third grade like when Tony started school. Tony refused. He wanted Darcy to actually learn how to communicate and make friends, not spend her whole life being bullied for being younger and smarter. Tony and the school reached an agreement. Darcy would start kindergarten with all the other five-year-old’s but would be getting more advanced work to do.

So, on September 1st, 1995, Darcy started school and Tony had a breakdown. Darcy was excited to start school. She had her brand-new Bill Nye backpack that was filled with new books and crayons. She was wearing a brand new dress that Tony had gotten her. It was red and covered in little ladybugs. Her hair was done up in braids and she was ready to go.

It was Tony who wasn’t ready. He couldn’t quite believe that his little baby was about to start school. Pepper and Rhodey had to hold him back from running to her once Darcy was lining up with her class on her first day. Tony spent the whole day worrying about his daughter. Pepper and Rhodey did their best to keep Tony distracted. But he wasn’t truly ok until Darcy was back in his arms and telling him about all the stuff she’d done that day.

From there, school got easier. Tony would work his butt off during the day so that his evenings could be spent with Darcy. He made sure to attend as many school functions as he could. He clapped the loudest at Darcy’s 1st-grade school play, he attended her 4th-grade art show. Tony was there for it all. And being there for Darcy got him thinking. What kind of legacy was he going to leave behind for his daughter?

Truth be told, Tony had never really liked building weapons. He mostly did it to carry on Howard's legacy and to make things to protect Rhodey while he was at war. But that didn’t mean that Tony had liked it. He wanted to do more. He wanted to change the world with his tech, not destroy it. What kind of example would he be if he let the world burn? So, Tony brought it up with Obadiah. 

“Don’t you think that there are different areas of technology that we could be focusing on within the company?” asked Tony and Obadiah gave him a strange look.

“What’s brought this on my boy?”

“I just don’t want weapons manufacturing to be the only legacy I leave for Darcy.”

“Then why not built one of those arc reactor things? Keep the hippies off your back.” Brushed off, Obadiah.

Tony had felt like he was being treated like a child. He didn’t like it but he honestly wasn’t in the mood to get into a huge argument. He had to get Darcy from school. But, thinking back on this moment years later, Tony realized he should have pushed more.

XXXXXX

Darcy was 9 years old when Tony took her with him to Cern to give a talk about integrated circuits to ring in the new year. Darcy remembered meeting so many different scientists and being entranced with a young scientist named Mya Hanson who was chatting with her dad about plants. She also met a doctor named Ho Yinson. He gave her some cake. Darcy liked him.

Later, after the clock had struck midnight and Tony was taking her up to bed they ran into someone named Aldrich Killian. He instantly rubbed Darcy the wrong way so she acted really tired and winey to get her and her Daddy away from him.

Tony’s new driver/bodyguard, Harold, was waiting for them outside their room. Darcy liked to call him Happy in an attempt to get him to smile. He never smiled. That night, despite the fact that it was a party, really was about family for them. Tony loved how curious Darcy was. He loved how she was growing into a lovely young woman. Tony was so incredibly proud of his daughter and nobody could change his mind. 

Four years later, Darcy started high school. If Tony was a mess on Darcy’s first day of kindergarten, then he was an absolute train wreck the day Darcy went off to high school. Darcy had more than proved that she had inherited her dad’s intellect. Though she may come off as ditsy and quirky, Darcy was just as smart as Tony. Darcy was good at science but what she really excelled at was politics and writing. Where Tony was good with numbers, Darcy was good at tearing people a new one with just her words. Tony was sure she was going to change the world someday. He just knew it. 

But, with Darcy being so smart, she was also extremely observant of other peoples behaviours. She liked to watch people and study how they acted so she knew best how to handle a situation. It had gotten her into trouble more than once. But, Darcy had a good head on her shoulder. She knew when people were being manipulative and seedy. Case in point, the current argument she’d had with Tony. 

“Dad I’m serious. Stane's totally creepy. He keeps touching you all the time and using this voice with you. It’s a little bit rapey.” 

“He’s just being friendly Darcy. I’m fine. But if anyone ever makes you feel uncomfortable you tell them to fuck off and get an adult, alright little miss.” Cautioned Tony, even though he couldn’t help but agree with what Darcy was saying. Obadiah was getting more touchy with Tony then he had been before. Tony didn’t like it, but he wasn’t sure what to do about it. Tony could also tell that there was something up with Obadiah, he just didn’t know what.

XXXXXX

When Darcy was in her senior year of high school, life at the Stark house got turned upside down. The day started off normal. Tony and Darcy were down in Tony’s lab working on fixing up an old car together when Pepper came in and interrupted the two. Apparently Tony was late for a flight out to Afghanistan to give a weapons demonstration. Darcy gave her dad a hug, wished him luck, and Tony was soon on his way to the airport.

He didn’t know that that was the last time he’d see his daughter for three months.

It should have been simple. Show off the Jericho missile, hang out with Rhodey for a bit, and make it home with plenty of time to make Darcy’s graduation in two weeks. But, one joke about a funvee and a literal bomb with his name on it later and Tony had found himself having open-heart surgery in a cave.

When Tony came too, all he could feel was pain and panic. His first thoughts went to Darcy. He needed to know if she was ok but he couldn’t know how she was when he was stuck in a stupid cave in the desert. Luckily, he wasn’t alone. He was also trapped with a wonderful man named Ho Yinson. The same man from the New Years conference in Cern years ago. He’d put an electromagnet attached to a car battery in Tony’s chest to keep the bomb shrapnel out. Well, that would explain the pain.

It turned out that his captors, the Ten Rings, wanted Tony to make them a Jericho missile. Tony refused, and in between rounds of waterboarding, Tony thought of Darcy and Pepper. He just wanted to go home. He wanted to make it to Darcy graduation and cheer for his little girl. Although it was very likely that he’d missed it. Tony really had no clue how long he’d been there. The days just seemed to bleed together.

Tony, despite all the pain he was in, kept pushing forward. He designed a way to get him and Yinson out of that fucking cave so they could go home. It was gruelling work, but it was their only shot. It ended up working, but the outcome wasn’t what Tony had wanted. Yinson died to save Tony’s life so he could return to his daughter. Seeing his friend die before his eyes made Tony even more determined to get out of there and take down his captors and find who was selling his weapons under the table.

The trek through the desert was intense. Tony was covered in burns and his right arm felt slightly numb as he tried to get as far away from the Ten Rings’ camp as possible. And when Tony saw the military helicopter, he knew he was saved. Rhodey came running towards him and the two shared a hug. It felt like coming home. 

On the plane ride back to the US, Rhodey made Tony get checked over by a doctor. Everyone was a little concerned when Tony wouldn’t let the doctor anywhere near his chest but they chalked it up to something that must have happened in the cave. All the other injuries were superficial and would heal with time. Tony Stark wasn’t dying. Not today. 

The second Tony stepped off of that military plane with Rhodey and saw his daughter after three months in captivity, they ran towards each other. Tony pulled his little girl into a tight hug using his good arm and they just stood there together and cried. Tony had never thought he’d ever see his daughter again and he was so damn happy to be with her.

“I’m so so so sorry I missed your graduation sweetheart. I should have been there.” Whispered Tony into Darcy’s shoulder.

“Dad, you were being kidnapped and tortured. I’m just glad you’re alive!”

The two just stood there and cried for a while before Pepper and Rhodey escorted the pair over to where Happy was waiting with the car.

The press conference that followed was one for the history books. Tony had done the one thing he’d wanted to do for years. He finally shut down weapons manufacturing at SI. He told the world that he wanted to leave a better legacy for his daughter. He didn’t want the world to burn. He had always wanted to build it up and now was his chance. Darcy was proud of his decision. Stane and Rhodey were decidedly not. There were fights but Tony wasn’t backing out of his decision. 

The next day found Tony going into the main SI plant to go check things out. Darcy was out getting them lunch when Tony was accosted by Stane. He started off just talking business, but they both knew he wanted something else. He wanted to see Tony’s reactor. Tony said no. Nobody was touching that thing unless he wanted them too. 

Obadiah just kept on pushing despite Tony’s protests. He eventually showed him the reactor just to keep Obadiah’s hands off of him. Not that that really stopped the man. That was when Tony really understood why Darcy said that Stane’s actions came off as rapey. Tony wasn’t comfortable at all and he needed to put some distance between him and Stane.

Something was really off with Stane and Tony knew he had to do whatever he could to keep the people he cared about safe.

A couple of days later found Tony in his lab drawing up specs for a better version of the suit he used to escape from the cave. Darcy was out with some friends doing a little shopping for college while Tony worked tirelessly. He needed this suit do he could go out and destroy all of his weapons. He was also having JARVIS scan around to see of he could find out who was selling them in the first place.

He’d also made a better version of the arc reactor in his chest. Darcy had been a huge help in replacing it. She was a little grossed out by all the goo, but she took it like a champ and the two made jokes about it for years.

Making and testing out the different components for the suit was a totally different challenge. Not only did Tony manage to fling himself into the ceiling, get doused by a fire extinguisher because of one of his trigger happy bots, and break a window in the lab, but now Darcy was on to him. She had come down to give him a little gift when she caught him breaking some glass with his new flight stabilizer.

What Darcy had given him was something he would always hold dear to his heart. Darcy had framed and mounted the old arc reactor and had added some words around it. “Proof That Tony Stark Has A Heart”. Because despite what the media said, Darcy knew different. She knew that her dad was one of the most caring and selfless individuals she’d ever met. Tony smiled and gave Darcy a huge hug when he opened the gift. It took up a special place on his main work desk so he could see it.

A few days later Stane came to visit. He told Tony that the board of directors was trying to push him out and claim Tony decision on PTSD. Needless to say, Tony was pissed. He hadn’t gotten the chance to see a therapist since coming back because he’d been so busy so having other people, mainly old men, trying to make claims against him while he was vulnerable was just pushing it. Tony ended up kicking Stane out and going to take his suit for its first flight.

Flying was exhilarating. Tony couldn’t stop laughing as he took to the skies for the first time. Even with the suit icing over, Tony thought everything was a major success. He just had to work on the landing a bit. Falling through the ceiling of his lab and crushing one of his cars was not the way he planned on landing. It also made a whole lot of noise. Enough noise to draw Darcy out of her room and down to the lab. 

“Dad! What the hell are you doing?” asked Darcy as she walked into the lab and was met with the sight of Tony laying on top of a now smashed car.

“Um… nothing…”

“Dad, you’re wearing a suit of metal and you crashed through the ceiling!”

“It’s not what it looks like!”

“So you didn’t create a suit of armour and then crash it through the ceiling? You know Pepper is going to kill you when she finds out.”

From there, Tony didn’t really have a choice but to tell Darcy when was going on. He explained how he escaped from the cave he was being held in and how he thought that he could use the suit to actually do some good in the world. He wasn’t going to listen to Stane anymore. He was going to fight the good fight like he’d wanted to do since the beginning. And he was going to start by destroying all his weapons.

Now, Tony thought that Darcy would be mad at him about all of this. Like, she just got her dad back after he was missing for three months and now he was flying around in a metal suit. She had every reason to be mad. But that wasn’t what happened. Darcy started screaming that Tony was the coolest dad in the entire world. She was hugging him and shouting and honestly, Tony was just surprised. Well, if he had Darcy’s approval, he may as well go through with all of this and do the good he’d always wanted to do but was too scared and confused to do before. It was time to make up for his mistake.

Unfortunately, life was never that clean-cut. Tony found out that more of his weapons had been used illegally and that Stane had filed an injunction against him all in the same night. When Tony returned from destroying them and leaving the people using them to hurt innocent people to receive justice, he didn’t expect Pepper to catch him trying to get out of his battered up suit. 

They had a fight. Pepper tried to argue that Tony was killing himself and that she wanted none of it. She also tried to bring up how Darcy might feel about all of this but Tony stopped her. He knew how Darcy felt and he wasn’t going to stop when he could finally do something good. Pepper begrudgingly agreed to keep things a secret and help out.

Things sort of escalated after that. Stane broke in while Darcy was out with some friends. He paralyzed Tony and stole the reactor right from his chest. Tony felt incredibly vulnerable as Stane cradled his head and spoke in soft tones. It made his skin crawl. He’d never really liked Stane that much, but this was the final nail in the coffin. This behaviour was too much, even for Tony. He was touching him and manhandling him and taking what was never his to take. Tony just knew that this would feature heavily in his nightmares from now on. 

But, Tony was lucky. After Stane left with his prize, Tony was able to crawl down to the lab and with a little help from Rhodey and DUM-E he was able to put in a new reactor and get into one of his suits to go save Pepper and stop Stane.

Tony almost died that night stopping Stane. Tony came out lucky. Stane did not. Darcy was furious with him but she was more relieved to have her dad alive and with her. A day later, Tony was whisked away to a press conference and told by Agent Coulson to lie to the press about what had happened. So, Tony went out there with some cue cards to tell the lie.

That wasn’t what happened. 

Darcy though his whole “I Am Iron Man” speech was amazing. She loved it. Pepper, Coulson, and this man Tony recognized as Nick Fury from SHIELD did not. But their opinion didn’t really matter to Tony. Darcy thought he was cool so that was that.

About a month after that whole fiasco Darcy was ready to head off to college. The media went wild when they heard that the Stark heiress wasn’t going to MIT nor was she studying science. Darcy didn’t want to go into engineering like her dad. She wanted to go into politics and change the world with her words. Darcy could have gone into science if she wanted too. She was certainly smart enough. But Darcy wanted to forge her own path and Tony was going to support her however he could. 

Darcy was happy at school. She phoned Tony once a week to tell him about everything she’d been doing. Tony was so proud of her when he saw her grades for her first semester. Straight A’s! Tony actually stuck her grade report to the fridge. Pepper and Darcy thought it was funny.

Everything seemed to be going well. Darcy was doing well in school, SI’s stocks had actually increased, and Tony was planning to hold the Stark Expo soon. That was something that hadn’t been done since Tony took over. He was looking for new scientist to help him revolutionize green energy and tech. He’d also succeeded in destroying ALL of his weapons that were out there in the world. So yes, life was going swimmingly.

Until the palladium poisoning settled in.

To say Tony was scared was an understatement. He didn’t want to die and leave Darcy without him. Sure, Darcy was an adult now, but he couldn’t bear the thought of leaving her. She was his baby girl. So, with everything in front of him, Tony got to work on finding a cure.

It wasn’t the easiest thing. Not only did he have to find a cure for the palladium poisoning, but he also had his regular work and all the work for the Stark Expo that was being held soon. On top of that, he also tried to call Darcy at least once a week. She took an internship with Dr. Jane Foster in New Mexico and she was really excited about it. Tony was happy she was learning new things and finding her way in life.

Unfortunately, Tony ran into a dead-end in finding a cure for his poisoning. He’d tried everything that existed. There was nothing. All he could do was manage the symptoms and get his affairs in order. He made sure that Happy got the cars and enough money to keep him comfortable for a long time. He built Rhodey a suit that he planned to give to him once the expo started. He made sure that Darcy would have everything she would ever need. And once the expo started, Tony named Pepper Potts the new CEO of Stark Industries so his legacy would continue.

That was when things began to change up really quickly.

Tony was introduced to Natalie Rushman when she came to get the transfer paperwork from Tony signed. He knew something was off with her instantly. She was hiding something and Tony really wanted to know. But he had bigger fish to fry. He wanted to make the transition of power at SI as smooth as possible for Pepper and getting the scoop on Rushman wasn’t very high on his priority list.

They went off to Monaco for a business trip/mini vacation. It was supposed to be fun. They were going to work on introducing Pepper as the new CEO and Tony was going to compete in a car race because what’s the point of having a race car if you don’t drive it. Tony wanted to have some fun before the palladium poisoning really kicked in and killed him.

He wasn’t counting on the trip being interrupted by a maniac with a proto-arc reactor wielding electric whips. There was yelling, Tony was covered in cuts, the suit short-circuited, and Pepper and Happy had to come to the rescue. Nobody was really happy that day. Darcy called later that night. She’d seen what had happened on the news and got worried. 

“Dad! I saw on the news what happened in Monaco. Are you alright?” asked a worried Darcy.

“I’m fine Darcy. Just a few cuts and bruises. Everything is under control.”

“See when you say it like that it makes me not want to believe you.”

“So… how’s New Mexico?” asked Tony to steer the conversation away from himself.

After Tony got off the phone with Darcy he went to go interrogate the man with the arc reactor. He learned that his name was Ivan Vanko and that he had a grudge against Tony because of the actions of their fathers. It was stupid and infuriating and Tony was glad he was locked up and he didn’t have to deal with him.

The flight back to the states was a bit rough. Tony tried to make Pepper an omelet as an “I’m sorry” for what happened in Monaco. It didn’t really work out. He was starting to feel weaker and he was so lost in thought about how the fuck he would tell his friends and family that he was dying that he ended up burning it.

When he got back home, Rhodey was there waiting. That was when he learned the truth about the arc reactor in Tony’s chest. About how it made him sick and tired all the time and how the palladium kept eroding. But, even with all of that, Tony was still too scared to tell the man he considered a brother that he was dying.

A week later, Tony had to start thinking about his upcoming birthday. He had no idea what he should be doing so when Natalie came to help him with something he asked her, “If you only had one birthday left, what would you do.”

And she replied, “Whatever I wanted.”

So Tony spent the night video calling Darcy and watching movies with Rhodey, Happy, and Pepper. The public had been trying to get Tony to have a big party. 40 was a big deal. But Tony hated parties. He hadn’t been to a big party since the night Darcy was conceived. He had more important things to do and spending time with friends and family was one of them. 

That night, Tony gave Rhodey a suit. He needed someone to keep being Iron Man and watching out for Darcy once he was gone. He didn’t tell Rhodey this of course. He was just happy Rhodey took the suit with minimal protest. Tony was known for giving extravagant gifts so this wasn’t really that farfetched. 

The next day, after all of his friends had left, Tony was surprised to find Nick Fury and Natalie Rushman at his door.

“Well, you’re fired.” Deadpanned Tony as the two just invited themselves into his house.

“That’s not your decision to make Stark.” Snarked Fury.

“Well seeing as how you set a spy to infiltrate my company and my life I think it is my decision.”

“It was the only decision to make. Now, Stark meet Natasha Romanov. As for why we're here, we think we’ve found the cure to your little problem.”

“Is that what all these boxes are? Look I’ve tried everything that exists so excuse me for getting ready to throw in the towel.” Sassed Tony, but what Fury asked next through his through a loop. 

“Stark, what do you remember about your father?”

“He was cold. He was calculating. He never told me he loved me, he never even told me he liked me. So it’s a little hard for me to understand that he told you that the whole future was riding on me and he’s passing it down. I don’t get that. We’re talking about a guy who let his fists and alcohol do the talking while I hid Darcy away in her room. This is the guy who paid off doctors to keep all my injuries out of the medical records. Injuries he inflicted. So yeah, none of this is making any sense.” Tony was getting agitated and Fury could tell so he got to the point.

“Somewhere in these boxes, we think there’s the cure to your problem. Now I’ll just leave you here with Agent Coulson so you can get to work. Good luck Stark.”

“Wait! You’re just locking me in my own house and pissing off to somewhere! That’s not fair!” shouted Tony but it fell on deaf ears.

So for the next hour, Tony went through boxes while Coulson sat nearby and read a book. Tony honestly paid him no mind as he fiddled with on old expo model while old videos played. Although, when Coulson’s phone rang and the agent looked worried, that was when Tony got worried as well.

“Stark, I’ve been called away to New Mexico. I trust you’ll behave and get the work you need done.” 

“Wait, you’re going to New Mexico? Darcy’s there! Is everything alright?” worried Tony as Agent Agent began to leave.

“As far as I know she’s fine. But as a courtesy, I’ll keep you updated.”

And before Tony could even thank the man, he was gone. Always the enigma. Tony turned his attention back to the video playing. It was an old reel of Howard trying to introduce the expo. Tony frowned as he saw Howard yelling at his younger self to go away. That was the way it always was. The only reason Tony had been born was to be an heir. So, when film Howard told Tony that he was the future it was really hard for Tony to believe.

“If he really thought that then maybe he wouldn’t have hit me so hard.”

Tony ended up turning off the videos and focusing on the old model again. There had to be something there. And that was when Tony got lucky. That day Tony rediscovered an element and synthesized it in his own lab. He made sure to have JARVIS take a video of everything so he could show it to Darcy. Tony just knew that his daughter would freak out watching it and then proceed to try and do it herself. She was a Stark after all.

Although the new element saved his life, Tony’s problems were far from over. Not long after Tony got a very peculiar call that had him calling Rhodey, pepper, and Natasha. Vanko was planning something bad at the expo and Hammer was involved.

When Tony arrived Hammer was already giving his demonstration. It took only seconds after he interrupted it for the drones to go haywire. Tony took over trying to get the drones away and under control while Rhodey got the civilians to safety. Tony helped with that when he could. He stopped a drone form harming a small boy wearing an Iron Man mask. But with a “Good job kid!” Tony had to get back to work and trust that the kid would keep himself out of trouble and back to his parents.

It was a hard battle but getting to fight alongside Rhodey in the armour was actually fun. Plus actually getting to takedown Vanko and hearing that Hammer was arrested was a huge bonus. But it was short-lived. Tony had to make a mad dash to where Pepper was in order to save her because Vanko decided that a self destruct feature in his drones was a good idea. Luckily he made it in time. There was some shouting. Lots of shouting.

And then there was kissing. Now that was something Tony hadn’t done in around 20 odd years. But with Pepper, it just felt right. Darcy was going to have a fit when she found out about that. She’d been not so subtly trying to get Tony and Pepper together since she was a teenager.

The next day, after a much-needed sleep, Tony was called away by Natasha to meet with Fury for something. She wouldn’t tell him what it was but she had a smile on her face. When Tony arrived there was a desk and a few screens set up. On the desk were a few folders, the one on top reading “Avengers Initiative” in bold red letters. Just as Tony mad to reach for it he was interrupted by Fury.

“I think you should hold off on looking at that folder Stark. There’s a few things we need to talk about.”

“Like what?”

“Let me start by explaining all of this. The Avengers Initiative was created so that in the event of a global disaster. You’ve been on our radar for years as an engineer and now as Iron Man. We wanted to make sure you were a good fit for the team so I have Romanov to see if you’re the right kind of person. I think you should read her assessment of you.” Stated Fury as he passed Tony a thin folder. Tony opened it up both curious and afraid of what it might say. There was only one piece of paper inside with one short sentence written on it. 

“Iron Man: Yes. Tony Stark: recommended!”

“Yes, despite what the public thinks you’ve actually shown a great deal of maturity. I’m not taking you almost dying into account. That was an extenuating circumstance.”

“What do you mean by all of that?” asked Tony as he tried to get more information out of Fury.

“Well, the media has been saying the same few things about you since you were a teenager. Said you were a playboy and a narcissist. That you had no soul. That’s not what I’ve seen. I know you have a heart that you use to care for the people close to you. I know you haven't been a playboy since your kid was born. And I can very clearly see you’re not a narcissist. I can see your self worth problems from a mile away. You may have the public fooled Stark but not me. A man like you is exactly who we need protecting this planet. So what do you say? Are you in?” 

Tony sat there thinking for a moment. This was kind of a big deal. Being on a team like this would allow him to help more people when he was needed, but it could also paint an even larger target on his daughter’s back. There needed to be a way to protect Darcy and now Pepper if things got bad. They couldn’t be involved if the world decided to turn to shit. 

“Do you think we could maybe keep this on the down-low? I don’t want the world finding out about this unless it’s an emergency. You understand Fury, that I’ll do anything to keep my kid safe.” Fury nodded.

“Well, then count me in.”

Tony obviously told Pepper what had just happened once he got back home. He couldn’t not tell her. She was a little apprehensive about the whole thing but Pepper knew that Tony would be careful. Two days after that Tony got a call from Darcy. Apparently, the actual Norse Thor had shown up and disrupted their research. Not only that but SHIELD had shown up and there was a whole fight with Thor’s little brother Loki and the second Darcy had finished telling Tony what happened he was running to his lab to put on his suit.

Tony was midflight when he called Pepper to tell her where he was. She understood. Darcy and her safety was Tony’s number one priority. Well, it was Pepper’s too. She’d know Darcy since she was just a little kid and Pepper knew that she would move heaven and Earth for that kid. So, she understood Tony’s reaction when he told her that Darcy was in trouble.

When Tony landed in New Mexico Tony was quick to find Darcy. She was sitting with Jane outside their trailers while Agent Coulson talked to them. The second Darcy saw her dad she went running to him. She had so many things to say about what had happened. She thought everything was so cool. Tony was just glad she was alright. And after he’d heard about Loki, Tony hoped he’d never have to deal with the brother of Thor.

About a year after that whole debacle Tony and Pepper moved to New York. They’d been working on building a tower completely run off of arc reactor technology. The tower itself was really nice and Tony was really happy with how it was looking. The only room on Tony and Pepper’s floor that wasn’t completed yet was Darcy’s room. Tony was waiting for her to come back from her new research trip with Jane to decorate her room. Even though Darcy was an adult and out on her own, Tony always wanted to make sure there was a special space for her to stay when she came home.

Life was good. Darcy was safe and learning new things every day, Tony and Pepper were going steady. It was great. Well, it was great until Agent Coulson broke into the tower one night. There was an emergency and the Avengers were being called in.

Shit hit the fan pretty fast.

The one thing that surprised Tony about the whole affair was that Captain America was still alive. Howard had spent years comparing Tony to Steve Rogers and seeing the man in person was setting off all of Tony’s hidden insecurities beaten into him by Howard. That wasn’t fun.

What was fun was getting to meet Dr. Bruce Banner. They very quickly became friends as they used their brains to search for the cube. Although, even that little bit of fun was interrupted when everyone started shouting. Tony hated all the shouting but he stood his ground when Rogers went off on him. 

“You’re not the one to lay down on the wire and let people walk over you.” Shouted Rogers and Tony instantly got offended.

“Where the fuck did you hear that? I would gladly lay down on the wire to protect others, especially my daughter!”

“You have a daughter?”

And that was when Tony went off. He never turned down an opportunity to brag about his kid. He talked about how amazing she was and all the work she was doing. Tony even pulled a picture out of his wallet to show off because he was that kind of parent. When Thor saw the picture he smiled and joined in praising the young Stark. He hadn’t realized that Darcy and Tony Stark were related until that moment. He liked the spunky young girl.

“But all the stuff the media said? About you being a drunken playboy?” asked Rogers once Tony’s spiel started to die down.

“I’ve been a single father since I was 20. Do you really think that I’d do any of that and jeopardize Darcy? All of that is lies!”

“There was nothing in your folder about any of this.”

“You mean the fake folder used to protect Darcy.” Deadpanned Tony, “I was always on with the Avengers Initiative. We just made a fake folder so that if the information got compromised then Darcy wouldn’t be targeted because I work with a whole bunch of superheroes. But, I guess that’s moot at this point. The whole world knows now. Nothing is secret after Point Break over there crash-landed in New Mexico.”

Tony didn’t get much more time to talk after that. The room just happened to explode and everyone ran off to do their jobs. Moments got a little tense when Tony was fixing the rotor but he made it out. Although, when Fury told everyone that Loki had killed Agent Coulson, Tony wanted to have a breakdown. He’d grown attached to the agent. He was a kind, genuine person who deserved better. It hurt knowing he was dead.

Things only got worse after that. Loki hijacked the tower to open his portal, Tony got thrown out of a very high window, and aliens began invading Earth. It was a long hard fight. There were some moments where Tony felt like he was barely holding on. The only thing really keeping him in the game was the thought that he needed to protect Darcy and Pepper. They were Tony’s number one priority and he would fight to the death to keep them safe.

When the nuke was fire at New York, Tony knew what he had to do. It broke his heart, but it was the only way to keep everyone he loved safe. JARVIS asked if Tony would like to phone Darcy as a last goodbye. But, JARVIS wasn’t fast enough and the call was blocked as Tony flew that nuke into the portal.

The last thing he saw were stars that weren’t from known skies.

.

.

.

Tony was a fucking lucky man. Hulk had managed to catch him and scare him back to life. Tony definitely owed him one. Despite all his problems, Tony hadn’t wanted to die for a very long time. The team made their way up to the tower so they could get Loki and finish this.

They locked Loki up for the night with some special stuff from Thor and went out for Shawarma after. It was nice and everyone was more than happy to get some food. They were all starving after the fight. Tony invited everyone back to the Tower to spend the night. He had the space so why not share it with his new team.

Just as everyone was just getting back and ready to settle in for the night, the doors to the elevator opened and Darcy went running to her dad.

“What are you doing here little miss?” asked Tony as he hugged his daughter tight. He’d been so close to never seeing her again.

“SHIELD picked me up hours ago when they said you were in danger. I needed to make sure you were alright.”

“I’m fine Darcy. A little banged up but I’m not leaving you and Pepper any time soon.”

While Tony and Darcy had their little reunion, the rest of the team were just sort of looking on. While the fact that Tony had a daughter was public knowledge it was completely different seeing Tony interact with his kid.

When Tony and Darcy finally remembered that there were other people in the room, Tony was able to introduce his daughter to the team. Darcy and Thor were already friends and she got along great with Natasha and Bruce. It was nice to see everyone begin to unwind.

That night though, Tony didn’t really let Darcy out of his sight. Sure he was normally a bit of an overprotective parent but he’d almost died for fuck's sake. He deserved to be a little antsy and overprotective. As long as Darcy was safe he’d be fine. 

The Avengers slowly went their separate ways after Thor took Loki back to Asgard. It had been a long few days and everyone just needed time and space to decompress. Tony and Bruce went back to the tower where Pepper was waiting while the other Avengers went back to SHIELD. Darcy had left that morning to go back to work with Jane with a promise to call often. Tony, well he was just ready to rest. This whole alien and wormhole thing was just too much for him. Hopefully, nothing like that would ever happen again.

Who was he kidding? Tony’s life had never been normal. Not since he was a kid and definitely not since he’d had a kid of his own. Sure, Darcy was amazing and Tony wouldn’t trade her for the world but having a small slice of normalcy would be nice. No crazy science, no alien invasions, and no more wormholes.

Well… he could dream, right? 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked this little fic. It’s nice to go back to a simpler time when Thanos was just a face during the end credits and everyone was happy and together. I think we all need more of that. Well, I’ll see you soon for my next long fic, “Unmasking the Broken”. -Shadows


End file.
